Anaphalis margaritacea (L.) Benth.
pearly everlasting (western pearly everlasting)
Asteraceae (Aster family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Photograph

© Maurice Goguen     (Photo ID #7693)


Map

E-Flora BC Static Map

Distribution of Anaphalis margaritacea
Click here to view the full interactive map and legend

Species Information

General:
Perennial herbs from rhizomes; stems usually unbranched, leafy, white-woolly, 20-90 cm tall.
Leaves:
Basal leaves few, deciduous; stem leaves alternate, narrowly lance-shaped with a conspicuous mid-vein, 2-15 cm long, 0.5-2 cm wide, greenish above, white-woolly beneath; margins often rolled under.
Flowers:
Heads small, discoid, in dense flat-topped clusters; involucres 5-7 mm tall, woolly at the base; involucral bracts dry, pearly white, sometimes with a dark basal spot; disk flowers yellowish.
Fruits:
Achenes small, to about 1 mm long; roughened; glabrous to sparsely hairy; pappus hairs white.

SourceThe Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Illustration

If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.

USDA Species Characteristics

Flower Colour:
Yellow
Blooming Period:
Early Summer
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Black
Present from Summer to Fall
Source:  The USDA

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Anaphalis margaritacea

The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)

Site Information
Value / Class

Avg

Min

Max

Elevation (metres)
1074 5 2380
Slope Gradient (%)
23 0 270

Aspect (degrees)
[0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]

195 0 360
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR)
[0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic;
8 - hydric]
3 0 8
Modal Nutrient Regime
Class
C
# of field plots
 species was recorded in:
1223
Modal BEC Zone Class
ESSF

All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in

BG(3), BWBS(4), CDF(2), CMA(9), CWH(253), ESSF(339), ICH(202), IDF(47), IMA(1), MH(15), MS(71), PP(4), SBPS(5), SBS(121), SWB(3)

Habitat and Range

Moist to dry meadows, open forests, logging units, fields and roadsides in the lowland, montane and subalpine zones; common throughout all but NE BC; N to AK, YT, and NT, E to NF and NS and S to NC, KY, AZ, NM and CA.

SourceThe Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Synonyms

Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Anaphalis margaritacea var. angustior (Miq.) Nakai
Anaphalis margaritacea var. intercedens H. Hara
Anaphalis margaritacea var. occidentalis Greene
Anaphalis margaritacea var. revoluta Suksd.
Anaphalis margaritacea var. subalpina A. Gray
Anaphalis occidentalis (Greene) A. Heller
Gnaphalium margaritaceum L.